Audubon Society Sues U.S. in Flap Over Bird Habitat

The National Audubon Society filed suit Thursday against federal wildlife officials requesting that they identify crucial habitat for the least Bell’s vireo, a small endangered songbird that nests in the path of the proposed Foothill toll road in south Orange County.

The gray and white bird, found mostly in Riverside and San Diego counties, was listed as a national endangered species in 1986, but the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has been studying it since then to determine which areas should be protected to ensure its survival.

Designating critical habitat could affect Orange County’s effort to build the Foothill toll road, which would run through undeveloped canyons and the northern tip of San Diego County. Vireos have been seen nesting just over the Orange County border at Camp Pendleton, along the road’s proposed path.

Also, the Orange County Water District stores water behind Prado Dam, which is widely considered the best habitat for vireos. The water agency, however, already is taking precautions to protect the birds.

Once widespread in Central and Southern California, there are only about 300 pairs of least Bell’s vireos left. The bird needs stream-side vegetation to survive, and most rivers and creeks in Southern California have been channelized and paved.

“An unwillingness on the part of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to give the issue . . . high priority has delayed protection efforts to date,” said Audubon’s chief counsel, John Echeverria. “We hope this suit will strengthen the least Bell’s vireo’s chances of survival.”

David Klinger, a U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service spokesman, said the agency’s biologists in Southern California and Portland offices identified key habitat for the vireo several years ago, but it has been stalled by Interior Department attorneys in Washington, who are reviewing it.

“This one has been out there in limbo for a while,” he said.